Even the third slalom race of the World Cup in Jasna – after 2016 and 2021 – did not see a different winner than the phenomenal American Mikaela Shiffrin. For the third time on the slope under Chopok, she left all her competitors behind. This time, she had one significant opponent less, as Slovak Petra Vlhova did not start due to injury.
Shiffrin led after the first run with a margin of 52 hundredths of a second over Croatian teenager Zrinka Ljutičová, but in the second run, the native of Zagreb made a powerful comeback. However, the American resisted, won the slalom in Jasna with a margin of 14 hundredths of a second, and notched her 95th victory in the World Cup.
"It wasn't easy in the second run; my energy was running out. Zrinka forced me to push it to the maximum; she did great. However, the spectators really gave me energy; thank you for coming today," Shiffrin evaluated at the finish. "The third victory in Jasna is great. It's a special place for me," Mikaela noted. However, after the eighth slalom of the season, it still holds that, apart from Shiffrin and Vlhova, no one else has reached the top step. Slovak skier celebrated three times, while the American did so five times.
Ljutičová's Maximum
Zrinka Ljutičová's second place is the best result of her career and an early gift for her 20th birthday, which Zrinka will celebrate this Friday – January 26. "Fantastic feeling. It was really close with Mikaela, but I'm also happy with the second place. I have a new favorite slope and audience – Jasna," she smiled after the race.
Third place went to Swede Anna Swenn Larsson, trailing Shiffrin by 81 hundredths of a second. However, it is her first podium this season.
Slovenian Athletes Didn't Finish, but Dubovská Achieves Maximum
With the absence of the injured Petra Vlhova, only two Slovak skiers started the race, but neither Ela Hrbáňová nor Sophia Polláková reached the finish line. They both fell out after making mistakes in the first part of the race. "It's a shame; it was too twisty at times, and I couldn't handle it. But I'm happy that I could experience the atmosphere of the World Cup. I've never seen so many people on the hill," said 19-year-old Hrbáňová at the finish.
"It didn't work out for me today either; I was thrown backward at the tenth gate, but it was great to try it. The audience was really amazing here," acknowledged Polláková.
The only competitor with a Slovak connection left in the race was Martina Dubovská, a Slovak native who represents the Czech Republic but lives in Liptovský Mikuláš. "It kicked me backward a lot, I couldn't find the right feel. I even resisted before the double gate. I hope the second run will go better for me," she wished after finishing 21st in the first run, trailing Shiffrin by 2.96 seconds. In the end, she finished 14th, her best result in this discipline this season. "The second was better than the first. I was behind again at the beginning, but I tried to fix it," said Livio Magoni's protégé for JOJ Šport, who also coached our Petra Vlhova in the past.
